Nutritional restrictions during the first 1000 days of life can impair or delay the physical and cognitive development of the individual and have long-term consequences for their health. Metabolic phenotyping (metabolomics/metabonomics) simultaneously measures a diverse range of low molecular weight metabolites in a sample providing a comprehensive assessment of the individual's biochemical status. There are a growing number of studies applying such approaches to characterize the metabolic derangements induced by various forms of early-life malnutrition. This includes acute and chronic undernutrition and specific micronutrient deficiencies. Collectively, these studies highlight the diverse and dynamic metabolic disruptions resulting from various forms of nutritional deficiencies. Perturbations were observed in many pathways including those involved in energy, amino acid, and bile acid metabolism, the metabolic interactions between the gut microbiota and the host, and changes in metabolites associated with gut health. The information gleaned from such studies provides novel insights into the mechanisms linking malnutrition with developmental impairments and assists in the elucidation of candidate biomarkers to identify individuals at risk of developmental shortfalls. As the metabolic profile represents a snapshot of the biochemical status of an individual at a given time, there is great potential to use this information to tailor interventional strategies specifically to the metabolic needs of the individual.
Keywords: Childhood; Early-life; Environmental enteric dysfunction; Intrauterine growth restriction; Iron deficiency; Malnutrition; Mass spectrometry; Metabolic phenotyping; Metabolism; Metabolomics; Metabonomics; NMR spectroscopy; Preterm; Profiling; Undernutrition; Zinc deficiency.